Proposals in Mayo development plan to address housing issues
MODULAR buildings, affordable serviced sites, a mix of house types and multigenerational housing have been proposed for inclusion in the new Mayo county development plan to help address the housing crisis.
At a special meeting of Mayo County Council this week, a number of amendments were proposed to the draft Mayo County Development Plan 2021-27 across a range of areas.
Housing, and rural planning, have been among the key issues in the discussions on the plan.
The special meeting was called to deal with the manager's report that was prepared following the initial public display phase of the draft plan. At the meeting, councillors approved that report, with several amendments.
Amongst the many amendments proposed by Fine Gael, a number were aimed specifically at improving housing supply and housing opportunities for the people of Mayo.
They included the following.
Modular buildings: greater consideration of the use of modular buildings as a permanent housing solution, to offer greater variety of construction options to potential homeowners and builders (provided the quality of housing meets standards).
Serviced sites: where Mayo County Council would provide, at an affordable cost, serviced sites in towns on council owned land, or council acquired land. These sites, which would have all services (water, sewerage, electricity, broadband) available, would be sold at an affordable price to people to build their own home (e.g., first time buyers, or families trading up from a starter home, etc.)
House types: providing a better mix of housing in new developments, offering greater variety of house types (from larger detached houses, three-bed houses, to smaller two-bed units) to cater for all requirements to meet the needs of the whole community.
Multigenerational housing: facilitating housing solutions for families where there is a desire to adapt (or build new) a house to cater for more than one generation living in comfort in the same house.
Commenting after the meeting, Fine Gael Councillor Jarlath Munnelly outlined that he and his colleagues had spent a lot of time trying to improve the draft plan for people who want to own their own home.
“Housing is the No. 1 issue in this county,” he stated. “The county development plan should help people across the county to own their own home. So some of these proposals made by my colleagues and I are focused on making planning easier, making sites available, or reducing costs.”
The proposals received unanimous support and he is confident these objectives will be included in the final plan, to be finalised later in the year.
Councillor Munnelly also outlined that there has been a lot of debate during the development plan meetings about the importance of people from rural areas being able to get planning permission in their locality, an issue that is strongly supported by Fine Gael.
He acknowledged that there are many challenges facing people trying to buy their own home in Mayo today, but he feels that these changes to the development plan will go some way to improving this issue.
“It is small steps, but I think these proposals will help more people to become home owners.
“If I could focus on one of the proposal in particular, the serviced sites proposal; because of this proposal there is now an onus on Mayo County Council to put money behind this idea, and to make a start this year to develop a number of pilot sites across the county. This is something that my colleagues and I in Fine Gael will be seeking support for at budget time, later this year.
The development plan is at draft stage. Following the decision of councillors to approve (with amendments) the manager's report and draft plan, the amended draft will be placed on public display in a number of weeks, where public comment on the amended draft will be invited.